Surprising Siskins....and Long Point Ice

Just back from Long Point Bird Obs. in Canada - every year is different !!

Taking us to The TIP....like no-one has ever seen..

Before more ice....and North American birds....

Breeding Siskins....
In late May early June 2013 we caught a number of locally breeding Siskins. By the 7th June 2013 we had ringed four 3J birds, and 10 in total by the end of the month.
By the end of today - the 1st June we have ringed 27 juvenile (3J) Siskins, a huge increase with no change in catching effort. Surprisingly one of the juvenile Siskins from Wendy's garden reached mine (6km) 24 hours later which indicates how far these very young birds may wander.
A retrap Lesser Redpoll, a breeding male (with cp) was another surprise yesterday too.
Alas our local Siskin research will stop for the week....
Skokholm Bird Obs. ...our destination tomorrow !

More about the Long Point Bird Obs. trip when back.... but a couple of photos to start...

Days without ice, then a change in the wind....gulls loved to roost on the ice, Glaucous Gulls peaked at seven, and the Breakwater Banding Station crew picked out a Snowy Owl on one iceberg !

Numbers were slow and low, but good birds appeared..

The first Golden-winged Warbler

An unbelievable year for Summer Tanagers, we had three one day.

Four Yellow-breasted Chats too...

                                                                                                                                      (photo LPBO)
More about this wanderer from Ohio State, USA ...... but it was the 397th species to be recorded at Long Point Bird Observatory Canada.